Eric Maierson

He’s worked at MediaStorm since 2006, where he’s collaborated with some of the world’s greatest photographers.

Eric is the recipient of two Emmy Awards, the Alfred I. Dupont Award, as well as numerous accolades from Pictures of the Year International and NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism competitions.

Additionally, he helped develop and produce the Peabody Award–winning show "A Walk in Your Shoes" and served as head writer for VH1’s hit series "Where Are They Now?" His short films have played at film festivals across the country and his writing has appeared in Playboy magazine and the McSweeney’s book Mountain Man Dance Moves.

Eric writes extensively for the MediaStorm blog in addition to fthef.com, a blog about fear and creativity.

He graduated from Ithaca College and received his M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston.

Based on 14 trips to Afghanistan between 1994 and 2010, A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan is the work of photojournalist Seamus Murphy. His work chronicles a people caught time and again in political turmoil, struggling to find their way.

In India, all women must confront the cultural pressure to bear a son. The consequences of this preference is a disregard for the lives of women and girls. From birth until death they face a constant threat of violence.

Three Women is a short film about women in pain, struggling to make sense of their lives. It is a series of stories reduced to their emotional essence. This is a fictional piece but one that is also true.

Once at the center of the U.S. economy, the family farm now drifts at its edges. In Iowa, old-time farmers try to hang on to their way of life, while their young push out to find their futures elsewhere. Driftless tells their stories.

The Democratic Republic of Congo sits atop one of the world's most vast deposits of diamonds and gold; yet it is also home to the world's most deadly war. In Rape of a Nation, photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale explores the connection.

At twenty, photojournalist Matt Eich has maturity dropped in his lap: his world-class career takes off, just as his girlfriend becomes pregnant. Together they document their budding lives, as they grapple with some very grown-up choices.

Two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana, photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally returns to find those who are headed home. Amid jobs lost, communities scattered, and houses destroyed, what does it take to rebuild a life?

The sale of bear paws, crocodile hearts, and other rare animal parts form the world's third-largest illegal market. Black Market explores the human passions and ancient beliefs that drive the trade and threaten its most endangered species.

A lonely middle-aged man and a teenaged girl find themselves alone together at a party, where the chance to speak honestly to each other is too tempting to resist. Eric Maierson's short film explores what happens next.

BLOODLINE: AIDS and Family is Kristen Ashburn's intimate portrait of African mothers, fathers and children being crushed by AIDS. Ashburn's work connects us to these people deeply; we learn that only through such connection is hope possible.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has been a landscape of bloodshed and chaos. Yet in the northern region of Kurdistan, people now live stable lives. Iraqi Kurdistan takes us into daily life there, and celebrates the beauty of peace.

Kingsley's Crossing is the story of one man's dream to leave the poverty of life in Africa for the promised land of Europe. We walk in his shoes, as photojournalist Olivier Jobard accompanies Kingsley on his uncertain and perilous journey.

For each of the more than four thousand U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, there is an American family undone by grief. Never Coming Home takes us inside these families, to meet the people and sift through the emotions that are left behind.

Japan’s Disposable Workers examines the country’s employment crisis: from suicide caused by overworking, to temporary workers forced by economics to live in internet cafes, and the elderly who wander a town in search of shelter and food.

Gashora Girls School in Rwanda educates the country’s most talented girls in science and technology, preparing them for college, and empowering them to become future leaders. In 2013, they graduated their pioneer class.

Lourdes Pilco is a middle-aged woman who’s spent most of her life working backbreaking jobs for little money. With the help of CARE, Lourdes was able to send her children to school while setting a new standard for women in her community.

Elizabeth grew up in Peru. All she wanted in life was to attend school. But like so many in her community, she was prohibited by her parents. Bit by Bit is the story of a woman unwilling to be marginalized.

Sofía first fled her family farm because there was never enough food, then her physically abusive husband. Sofia lived house-to-house for almost a decade. With the assistance of Heifer International, she finally built a house of her own.

Jeff Bridges is an Academy Award-winning actor. He is also an accomplished photographer. He's been taking pictures on the set of his movies for more than 30 years, capturing intimate and surprising behind-the-scenes moments.

Pat Schoenfeld, 2013 ICP Trustees Award recipient and last remaining member of ICP's original staff, shares stories from ICP's earliest days and reflects on her continued involvement--though in a different capacity--nearly 40 years later.

Southern Yemen is a battlefield. I Know Where I’m Going follows ICRC representative Hussein Saleh as he works to ensure that the organization can provide aid to the victims of the conflicts that grip this dangerous and volatile region.

Pakistan's stability is of great consequence to regional and international security. Crisis Guide: Pakistan examines the roots of its challenges, what it means for the region and the world, and explores some plausible futures for the country.

Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict integrates a comprehensive array of audio, video, imagery, and text, to offers an in-depth look at the history of the conflict and its geopolitical repercussions.

A Change of Heart tells the story of one man's total artificial heart transplant. This multimedia piece, with images by Robert Clark, is one element of National Geographic's comprehensive feature project entitled Mending Broken Hearts.

Jay Singer has been in love with one Brooklyn neighborhood his entire life. He grew up there, pined for it when he was forced to leave and returned when he couldn’t stand to be away. “Coney Island Jay” really loves Coney Island.

Benny is a “certified” garbologist. He collects what others throw away. Benny is also at war with his family. Here is a man sharing a house with his wife but living as a stranger. This is a household on the edge.

For Walter Backerman, seltzer is more than a drink. It’s the embodiment of his family. As a third generation seltzer man, he follows the same route as his grandfather. But after 90 years of business, Walter may be the last seltzer man.

A family is determined to give their disabled son a whole and vital life. In the midst of a great burden, one small child – with a seemingly endless supply of love – is the blessing that holds a family together.

Virginia Gandee's brilliant red hair and dozen tattoos belie the reality of this 22-year-old's life. Inside her family's Staten Island trailer her caregiving goes far beyond the love she has for her daughter.

Kryssy Kocktail grew up in troubled family and, as an adult, followed the mythic path of joining the circus. Amid the lights and energy of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, she has found something that she never dreamed would be hers.

One evening, David Sheets read a story about a new basketball arena proposed for his neighborhood. Then he realized the plans were drawn right over his house. Hold Out is the story of a few neighbors who haven't been very easily dislodged.

Evelyna's petite dancer's frame holds a bursting creative soul, which drove her from her home in Germany to a year of creativity in New York. 14 years later she longs to return to Europe, but her newest creations won't fit in her suitcase.

One night a week, the stage at the Apollo Theater is an amateur's battleground, where performers have competed for stardom since 1934. Today, the legend of Ella Fitzgerald lives on in the hearts of those who pray for their own big break.

A beloved Italian-American enclave suffers the impersonal tide of gentrification, as committed old-timers struggle to hang-on. In Roots in the Garden, we get a personal glimpse of what it means to watch your neighborhood fade away.